UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Rolando Gómez, from the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing. In attendance were spokespersons or representatives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
UNRWA: Update on the Assistance to Palestinian Refugees
Juliette Touma, Director of Communications of UNRWA, speaking from Amman, said the full implementation of the Knesset laws seeking to prevent the Agency from delivering its services across the occupied Palestinian territory would have catastrophic consequences on the lives and the future of Palestinian refugees. In the absence of any durable solution, Palestine refugees would continue to depend on UNRWA for basic services, including health and education.
The State of Israel had sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the UN, requiring UNRWA to cease its operations in Jerusalem and evacuate all premises in the city by the 30 January. Despite that, UNRWA continued to provide services across the occupied East Jerusalem, including providing 70,000 patients with primary health care, as well as providing over 100 000 students and pupils with education. The remaining UNRWA Palestinian staff in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank were facing an exceptionally hostile environment as the disinformation campaign against UNRWA continued.
In Gaza, UNRWA remained the backbone of the international humanitarian response. The Agency was bringing in trucks of basic supplies, with over 5000 team members on the ground. UNRWA was not only bringing in the trucks, but also distributing aid, Ms. Touma insisted.
Answering questions from journalists, Ms. Touma explained that in Gaza more than 270 UNWRA team members had been killed during the conflict, with two thirds of UNRWA buildings hit, including shelters and convoys; and that some 20 staff were still detained in Israeli prisons.
Schools across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were now closed for a break; they should resume next Sunday. UNRWA education teams would continue to provide learning for around 60,000 boys and girls across the West Bank.
Ms. Touma stressed that UNWRA would continue with its mandate in the absence of a political solution. A political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was more needed than ever: the solution had to be a diplomatic, peaceful solution that would also address the issue of Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA was grateful to donors that paid their current contributions, Ms. Touma added. Still the financial situation was unclear, with certain donors having stopped their funding, others adopting a wait and see attitude, others still having stepped up their efforts.
There was no substitute for the Agency's capacity and mandate to provide its services, Ms. Touma warned.
WFP and WHO Updates from Gaza
Antoine Renard, WFP Country Director in Palestine, speaking from Jerusalem, explained that despite the attacks on its cargo and the closures it had been faced with, the Programme still had managed to deliver.
Since the ceasefire on 19 January, humanitarian access had improved: 600 humanitarian trucks were expected to be entering daily; up to 28 January, WFP alone had delivered over 10,300 metric tons of food, exceeding the total delivered last month.
While “shops around the corner” were restarting and food prices had started to go down in the Gaza Strip, these prices remained extremely high, Mr. Renard warned. WFP was moving to again support mills and food processing in Gaza, he added.
WFP immediate priorities were delivering food, serving hot meals in shelters and kitchens, and distributing nutritional supplements to women and children.
Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, speaking from Gaza, gave an update on the health situation in Gaza, indicating that since the ceasefire, WHO had been delivering supplies and essential medicine to 1,6 million people. The devastation of the health system meant that only 18 of the 36 hospitals were partially functional. WHO was working round the clock to expand health service in North Gaza, including supporting over 26,000 women and girls to maintain proper hygiene during displacement. The expansion of Shifa Hospital to over 200 beds was also being planned.
The mental health burden was unimaginable: everyone in Gaza was affected by 15 months of conflict, stress, and anxiety, but only two psychiatrists were available in North.
WHO estimated that between 12,000 and 14,000 Palestinian people needed medical evacuation, including 2500 children in need of urgent evacuation from Gaza. WHO was especially asking for a restoration of the traditional (medical) referral pathways.
Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Renard explained that another priority of WFP was to provide high-energy food to people on the move.
Dr. Peeperkorn said WHO intended to rapidly expand hospital capacity across Gaza while strengthening primary health care: 4000 hospital beds had been available before the crisis, 1100 during the crisis, and about 1500 now. WHO aimed for 2500 beds as soon as possible.
The first evacuation of 50 patients was expected tomorrow through Rafah: at this rate, the process would take years, he noted. Medical evacuations must resume, and an evacuation corridor be opened, Dr. Peeperkorn insisted.
Other questions
Taking questions from the floor regarding, first, the current US administration policy on immigration, Mr. Tarik Jašarević, also from WHO, stressed that access to health services by migrants, on the same level as the local population, was a basic human right. Mr. Jeremy Laurence, from OHCHR, stressed that migrants had human rights that must be respected wherever.
Answering a question regarding the origins of the COVID-19 epidemic, Mr. Jašarević said that to advance our knowledge on the origin of SARS-CoV-2, further studies needed to be conducted. WHO had been calling on China to release any information it had on the origin of the virus.
Finally, regarding the United States withdrawal from the Organization, Mr. Jašarević said the WHO Executive Board would start on Monday to discuss governance reform, including the financing and implementation of the next program budget and the proposed program budget for the following years.
OHCHR: Myanmar four years after the coup on 1 February
Jeremy Laurence, from the OHCHR, stressed that over the past four years, at least 6231 civilians, including 1144 women and 709 children, had been killed by the military. Acts of extreme brutality had been committed, including beheadings, burnings, mutilations, executions, torture and the use of human shields, all of which were carried out against civilians with absolute impunity.
UN figures showed that over 3.5 million people had been displaced, a third of whom were children, although data from civil society organizations suggested that that overall number could be more than double that.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights had called on States with influence, particularly those in the region, to double down on bringing an end to the violence, to press for full and unhindered humanitarian assistance, to demand the release of all those detained on political grounds, to engage with actors promoting democracy and human rights, and to ensure international protection for those fleeing the violence and persecution. (Full statement)
Mr. James Rodehaver, Chief of OHCHR Myanmar Team, further noted that 63% of persons killed had died as a result of airstrikes and artillery barrages. There had been a 24% increase in the number of deaths amongst children and 61% increase among women. The violence that the Myanmar military was relying upon was inherently against the civilian population.
This had created a dire situation in the country, compounded by the military's continued limitation on access for humanitarians. At the same time, the country's economy was in a freefall, with an increase in inflation, especially the cost of staple foods that people relied upon normally to survive.
Given this situation and how dire the situation was for normal people in the country, one wondered what the Myanmar military’s priorities were, and why they were making preparations for an election which seemed focused on legitimizing the coup in 2021.
Mr. Gómez reminded that the Secretary General had called on the parties to the conflict to exercise a maximum restraint, uphold human rights, and international humanitarian law. The Secretary-General also expressed concern about the military stated intention to hold elections amidst this horrific, situation, while noting that 19.9 million people in Myanmar, one-third of the population, was in need of humanitarian assistance. (See full statement).
Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Rodehaver said the black economy, including (telecom) scam-centers and trafficking of human beings, had risen in Myanmar. The pushback against the military had been motivated, in part, by the refusal of the military to do anything against the scam-centers, the expert noted.
In 2024, the military had lost considerable ground, having effectively lost control of the majority of its land borders, Mr. Rodehaver remarked. The military seemed only able to control areas where they had troops actively deployed, which was one of the reasons why they relied on heavy weaponry, the only area where the enjoyed a significant advantage over their opponents. It was difficult to track the delivery of heavy weapons to the military, Mr. Rodehaver said, answering a question regarding the delivery of Russian fighter aircraft.
There was no platform for political discussions or for the creation of conditions for a democratic transfer of power, the expert added. That was in part because the Myanmar military had resisted doing even the most basic things that had been demanded of it by both by ASEAN and the UN Security Council. The priorities now should be not elections, but de-escalation, peace and transition, Mr. Rodehaver said.
Mr. Gómez noted that the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, remained actively engaged with all stakeholders, in close cooperation with ASEAN, in the search of a Myanmar-led resolution to the crisis.
OHCHR: Human rights situation in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mr. Laurence, for OHCHR, said the human rights crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had continued to deepen, as hostilities between the armed forces and the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group had expanded towards South Kivu following the M23’s takeover of Goma.
Since the start of the crisis, bombs had struck at least two internally displaced persons sites, causing civilian casualties; the Office had also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January; as well as cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory.
DRC officials had reported that at least 165 women had been raped by male inmates during the prison break by more than 4,000 inmates from Goma’s Muzenze prison on 27 January, as M23 had begun its assault on the town. Conflict-related sexual violence had been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades. High Commissioner Volker Türk was particularly concerned that this latest escalation risks deepening the risk of conflict-related sexual violence much further.
As M23 was advancing towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, the High Commissioner called for all parties to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. It was crucial that there were investigations into the commission of violations. (Full statement)
Mr. Gómez, for UNIS, noted that the UN peacekeeping mission – the MONUSCO – was operating in very difficult conditions. Its priority remained the protection of civilians and of their own staff. Many civilians had taken shelter in UN camps near Goma.
Mr. Jašarević added that WHO had maintained its own staff the ground to try and ensure minimal health services, in a context where hospitals in or near Goma were saturated with injured patients. WHO was especially worried for the safety and health of women and girls at risk of violence.
Editor’s note: On Tuesday, 4 February, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women will review a special report submitted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding the authorities’ response to sexual violence in the eastern part of the country.)
OHCHR: Constitutional reforms in Nicaragua
Finally, Mr. Laurence, for OHCHR, warned that the constitutional reforms adopted on Thursday by Nicaragua would “deepen setbacks in the civil and political rights in that country”. The changes would further erode the already fragile checks and balances on the executive. The Office called on the authorities to review these reforms.
Announcements
Catherine Huissoud, for UNCTAD, announced that the Economic Development in Africa Report 2024 would be launched on Monday, 10 February, in Côte d’Ivoire, by UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan and Ivory Coast’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Promotion of SMEs, Souleymane Diarrassouba. There would be a hybrid press conference from Abidjan at 11 a.m.; a press kit would be ready at the latest on Thursday. Africa’s potential was immense, Ms. Huissoud noted, but unlocking it required bold policies, strategic investments, and stronger economic cooperation: the UNCTAD report would provide a roadmap to turn this vision into reality.
Mr. Gómez, for UNIS, announced that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) would close this afternoon its 98th session and issue its concluding observations on Slovakia, Eritrea, Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis, Peru, Gambia and Ecuador.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) would open next Monday its 90th session during which it would review the reports of Nepal (5 Feb), Belarus (6 Feb), Luxembourg (7 Feb), Belize (11 Feb), Congo (12 Feb), Sri Lanka (13 Feb), and Liechtenstein (14 Feb). On Monday, 17 February, the Committee will hold a half-day of general discussion on gender stereotypes.
Answering a question from a journalist, Mr. Laurence said OHCHR was aware that Japan had decided to cut its support to the CEDAW Committee. The Office valued all the contributions that Japan made to the UN work on human rights, Mr. Laurence added, noting that it was the prerogative of the Government to choose which area to support.
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